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Halt the waste of money

Feb 11, 2010 Editorial

When Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh presented the budget for this year, he was at pains to recount most of the things achieved last year. And these were many, particularly on the international scene where the government succeeded in lobbying successfully in parts for money to protect the environment.
There were huge investments in health and education but even the Finance Minister had to agree that there was not the concomitant return. Criticisms of the health system continue unabated and there seems to be no change in the level of illiteracy.
Earlier this year, President Bharrat Jagdeo said that this year the focus would be on value for money; on carefully monitoring the actions of those entrusted to ensuring that the money invested is properly spent. We see, increasingly, some of the hospitals outside the city referring patients to the Georgetown Public Hospital even though the matter is relatively simple and should have been undertaken at the regional hospitals.
Last year, for example, the government forked out a further $504 million to complete the Mackenzie Hospital. Weeks later the hospital could not even undertake the most minor of surgeries. In one case a maternity patient died because she could not get the Caesarean section that she needed.
The Health Minister explained that the equipment was being moved over and after being installed, would take a further two weeks before it could have been put into operation. Last week, Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy, announced that the Mackenzie Hospital now had an operating theatre. This was good news until the hospital kept referring patients to the city.
In the end the truth came out; that hospitals in the rural areas would refer even simple cases and he could offer no reason. Such actions make the money spent on improving the health system wasteful. The regional hospitals are reduced to clinics.
The harsh reality is that there are a growing number of doctors and the more the merrier. This should make the hospitals better able to serve the public but this is not the case.
It is no different in the education sector. Billions of dollars are being voted and spent on academic improvement in the country. Last year the government released $110 million for remedial reading. This programme would have seen the return of retired teachers concentrating on the most vulnerable of the school population—the very young.
In the olden days the older teachers taught what was called the kindergarten classes. They had the patience and the skill to teach small children. They were able to get the best out of them and learning became fun. Today the better teachers are placed in the upper classes where the children are best able to help themselves.
The younger ones are left to their own devices and those young people who want to be teachers but who are not trained or skilled enough.
The result is that there is growing illiteracy because there is no foundation of learning. Having recognized this, the educators decided that they were going to correct the situation. They also planned to help those illiterate adults.
The way to heaven is paved with good intentions. We are unaware of this programme. We have no word that it got off the ground and for sure, no attention was paid to the illiterate adult. Surely, there is no value for money and this, according to President Jagdeo, is going to be the focus of his administration.
Those contractors who took money to execute projects and delivered substandard work are likely to be brought to book. Communities complained and got nowhere. This waste of money cannot continue and it matters not that the election year is fast approaching.

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